Chile Commodities

Chile: Copper prices in May record tenth consecutive annual drop

June 1, 2015

In May, copper prices rose 4.2% over the previous month to an average of USD 2.85 per pound (equivalent to USD 6,294 per tonne), which represented a third consecutive increase. May’s gain followed the smaller 1.7% rise recorded in the previous month.

In annual terms, average copper prices fell 8.7% in May, which followed the steeper 9.5% drop recorded in April. May’s result marked the 10th consecutive annual decline in prices.

The Central Bank expects copper prices to average USD 2.9 per pound in 2015. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect copper prices to average USD 2.84 per pound in 2015, before moderating slightly to USD 2.85 per pound in 2016.

The Adimark GfK consumer confidence index (IPEC, Índice de Percepción de la Economía) dipped slightly from December’s multi-year high of 53.1 to 51.5 in January, ending a run of ten consecutive monthly increases.

Economic activity rose 2.6% in December on an annual basis according to the Monthly Indicator for Economic Activity (IMACEC) published by Chile’s Central Bank, down from 3.2% in November but overshooting analysts’ expectations for the second straight month.

The business confidence index (IMCE, Indicador Mensual de Confianza Empresarial) published by ICARE and the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez surged from 44.0 points in December to 53.8 points in January, moving into optimistic territory for the first time since March 2014.